We are a small non-residential retreat center in Western Massachusetts. Please scroll to the bottom of page for logistical information about retreats, registration requirements, cancellation policies, and lunch options.

Registrations for remaining Winter/Spring events will open soon. See all currently open events by clicking the "Register Now" button below:

All Open Events

Half day retreat

Opening the Heart: A Morning of Loving Kindness and Compassion

Kim Weeber

Saturday, March 3; 9:30am - 12:30pm

Suggested contribution: $15-25 registration + teacher donation

We will practice meditations that cultivate our natural capacity for an open and loving heart. These practices lead to the development of concentration, happiness, compassion, and a greater ability to accept ourselves and others. This retreat is suitable for both beginners and experienced meditators.

This daylong looks at using your meditation practice as a way to come into radical acceptance of yourself as you are now (without wanting to change anything) and, using John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory as a model of how we connect with other people, how we can be completely ourselves in our relationships with others and with our work - in other words, how to live a meaningful life.

George moved to Los Angeles from New York to work in film and photography in 1992, when he started practicing Vipassanā at Ordinary Dharma in Venice, and studying Buddhist texts extensively. In 1998 he began study with his current teacher, Shinzen Young, at Vipassanā Support International, where he is now a senior facilitator. He began teaching meditation in 2000, founded Mettagroup in 2003, and became an empowered teacher through Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society, where he taught from 2007 to 2016. Along with his daily Morning Meditation and full schedule of one-on-one students, he continues to teach weekly classes and intensives in Los Angeles, and offer day-long, weekend and extended retreats around the country. He's also an artist with works in the permanent collections of the Hammer Museum, the Library of Congress, MoMA and the American Irish Historical Society.

If you’ve never meditated before and want to learn about this practice, come. If you’ve meditated for 40 years and want to practice “Beginner’s Mind,” and start fresh, come. Guided meditation instruction, practice periods, time for questions, and discussion about why we practice meditation.

***PLEASE NOTE: the end time for this event has been changed due to a scheduling issue. For any questions, please contact the registrar at registration@insightpv.org.

I WILL NOT PASS AWAY: REINSTATING THE BUDDHA’S VISION OF THE FOUR-FOLD SANGHA >

Presentation/Slide Show

I Will Not Pass Away: Reinstating the Buddha’s Vision of the Four-Fold Sangha

Mindy Zlotnick

Saturday, April 7; 10:00am - 12:00pm

Suggested contribution: $7-25 registration + presenter donation

Due to political and cultural decisions, a strong female monastic presence disappeared for almost 1000 years. The revival of the bhikkhuni sangha in the Theravada tradition began about 30 years ago and has spread throughout the world. This colorful and informative PowerPoint presentation is an overview of the history of the Buddha’s vision of the four-fold sangha, and how women were an integral part of this vision. It presents the history of Theravada Bhikkhunis (fully ordained Buddhist nuns) from the time of the Buddha until present day, using the Aloka Vihara Forest Monastery nuns as an example of a group of pioneering women who are helping to revive the lineage.

Within the framework of the Buddha’s teaching on the Four Noble Truths and drawing on the methods grounded in Insight meditation, we will explore ways to respond to fear with equanimity, wisdom and compassion whenever this habit arises in our lives. By including the many expressions of fear such as anxiety, worry, and self-doubt in the field of dharma practice, we can heal and liberate our hearts and minds from the burden and limitations of living a fear-based life. Emphasis in Part 2 will be strengthening mindfulness, equanimity, and inquiry when fear arises. Parts 1 & 2 can be taken individually or as a series.

HARVESTING THE MESSENGERS: HOW CONTEMPLATING CHANGE, LOSS AND DEATH CAN HELP US LIVE WONDERFULLY >

One day retreat

Harvesting the Messengers: How Contemplating Change, Loss and Death Can Help Us Live Wonderfully

Manny Mansbach

Saturday, April 28; 9:30am - 4:30pm

Suggested contribution: $25-40 registration + teacher donation

“Love and death are the great gifts that are given to us; mostly they are passed on unopened.”
--Rainer Maria Rilke

All of us face uncertainty and seemingly catastrophic, unwelcome change in our lives. Our conditioned response is to turn way, to avoid the certainty of loss, of both small and final deaths. Studying our relationship to what are known as the Four Heavenly Messengers (sickness, aging, death and a person representing the holy life), can help us see how we contribute to our own suffering (“rope-burn”).

Instead of regarding loss and death as enemies, and denying or tightening our grip on what is ungovernable, we can train to become more intimate with the truth of change, meeting life and its challenges with more softness and friendliness, with greater ease and grace.

This day will include dharma talks, silent practice, small-group exercises and discussion. Best suited to people who have done some basic practice, but all are welcome.

In this half-day experiential retreat, we will explore the essence of compassion, allowing ourselves to integrate on physical, emotional, and energetic levels its depths and how it expresses itself. We will investigate common misunderstandings about compassion and enjoy the power and connection that true compassion embodies. Choosing the full day option will give more chance to practice these different aspects of compassion and to participate in group discussion.

Registration opens by Wednesday, March 28, 2018.

INSIGHT DIALOGUE: AWAKENING TOGETHER UNDER THE BODHI TREE >

One day retreat

Insight Dialogue: Awakening Together Under the Bodhi Tree

Jan Surrey and Florence Meleo-Meyer

Saturday, June 30; 9:30am - 4:30pm

Suggested contribution: $25-40 registration + teacher donation

This retreat will introduce the meditation guidelines of Insight Dialogue and offer an opportunity to explore the possibilities of a fully engaged co-meditation practice. We will explore the origins of suffering within relationship as well as the great potential of cultivating together in relationships the mental factors of awakening, including mindfulness, concentration, equanimity and loving kindness. We will investigate Speaking and Listening as meditative practices held and nourished by the deep foundation of silent practice.

Registration opens by Wednesday, April 25, 2018.

POSTPONED - new date to be determined

One Day Retreat ☸

Love, Separation, Loss, and the Wanting Mind

Adi Bemak

Saturday, November 4; 9:30am-4:30pm

Suggested contribution: $25-40 registration + teacher donation

The Buddha instructs us to use the Five Reflections on aging, illness, death, and separation as a background for a fifth reflection: the power of one’s actions to shape one’s experience. In this day-long retreat we will look closely at our experiences of how love and the wanting mind can both deter and inform us as we practice the truth of the changing nature of our lives. We will sit and walk in silence, and take time to talk with each other, exploring the range of our life experiences. All welcome.

Pre-registration is required for all retreats. One week before the retreat, if there are too few pre-registrants, the retreat may be cancelled at the discretion of the teacher. Unless otherwise stated, over-enrolled retreats are first-come, first-served. A note will be placed on the website soon after the retreat is full to indicate that a Wait List has been started. Please pre-register to hold a place on the Wait List.

Please pre-register for retreats on-line by clicking on the words "Register now!" below the course or retreat for which you wish to register. Follow the instructions provided at each step.

You may also download a hardcopy Pre-registration Form for Courses and Retreats by clicking Here. Copies of the form are also available at InsightPV. Please complete the form and mail it with your Donation for Registration to InsightPV at the address provided. You may also bring the form with your Donation for Registration to InsightPV if you come to another offering before registration closes.

If you are interested in taking the course/retreat but have not pre-registered by one week before the start, please pre-register anyway or send an email expressing your interest to registration@insightpv.org. We will refund donations for any offerings that cancel. You may register at the door, IF the course is not full or has not been cancelled.

On-line pre-registration and pre-payment is strongly encouraged, but Insight PV continues its policy of welcoming all, no matter their financial situation. If the suggested contribution is beyond your means, please just let us know for our own income-tracking purposes. If your funds are very limited, please save them for a contribution to the Teacher.

Please, plan to arrive 15 minutes before the start time for the retreat in order to get settled and ready to start.

Registration and Teacher Donations

Insight PV suggests donation ranges for each course and retreat to help support the Center, paying for rent, phone, and administration. Teachers and community dharma leaders at Insight PV are not paid for leading courses and retreats. While a dollar amount is not specified for a Teacher Donation, we encourage you to consider making a contribution equal to or greater than the Suggested Donation for Registration. In this way, you support the teacher’s livelihood and the Buddhist tradition of offering the teachings freely.

For each retreat, course, or open sitting, please take a moment to reflect on the value of the offering to you and make an appropriate donation. Insight PV continues its policy of welcoming all, no matter their financial situation. If the Suggested Donation is beyond your means, please just let us know when you register. If your funds are very limited, please save them for a contribution to the Teacher.

Open sittings have no suggested donation, but a box or basket is available for your donations to Insight PV and/or the teacher. All forms of generosity are welcome at Insight PV. Please consider donating your time to help your Center continue to operate with open arms.

LunchFor one-day retreats, it is recommended that you bring a bag lunch so that your retreat is not disrupted. If you cannot bring your lunch, listed below are some restaurants in Easthampton:

Riff's Joint– counter service, eat-in high quality casual food (not a bar, in spite of the name) located right below the Center on the first floor of Eastworks The Silver Spoon restaurant – traditional American foodEasthampton Diner – traditional diner foodBig E's Supermarket – ready-made and made-to-order sandwiches, hot soups and deli items

Cancellations for RetreatsIf there is a question about snow or other weather-related cancellations, please call Insight PV at 413-527-0388 after 6:30 am and select the cancellation mailbox.